Who is Louise Haigh, as the transport secretary quits over phone offence?

She announced she was standing down connected Friday aft it was revealed that she had a condemnation for making a mendacious connection to the police that her enactment telephone had been stolen successful a mugging successful 2013.

It is understood that Sir Keir was alert of the conviction, which is present spent, erstwhile Ms Haigh joined the shadiness cabinet. She said she had made a “genuine mistake” erstwhile she reported the telephone stolen arsenic she had not realised it was successful her location astatine the clip of the mugging.

But who is Ms Haigh, and what precisely happened? Here’s everything we know.

Ms Haigh has been the MP for Sheffield Heeley since 2015. Prior to being appointed transport caput pursuing Labour's triumph successful the July election, she served successful a fig of shadiness furniture and ministerial positions.

She worked for a portion arsenic a peculiar constable for the Met and worked for security institution Aviva earlier going into politics.

Under Jeremy Corbyn, she became a subordinate of the shadiness frontbench successful 2015 arsenic the shadiness curate for the civilian work and integer reform.

In 2020, during the heated post-Brexit commercialized discussions, Ms Haigh was appointed Northern Ireland's shadiness secretary, earlier taking connected the presumption of shadiness transport caput successful 2021.

Following Labour's triumph successful the wide election, Ms Haigh was named transport caput connected July 5, making her the youngest subordinate of the Cabinet.

Ms Haigh was described arsenic possessing “terrier-like intensity” pursuing her predetermination arsenic a Sheffield Heeley MP successful May 2015.

She was commended by then-House of Commons talker John Bercow for her efforts to halt taxation bureau closures, and the Yorkshire Post named her the astir diligent of the caller MPs the pursuing twelvemonth owed to the quantity of her speeches and parliamentary questions.

Ms Haigh said successful October she was boycotting P&O Ferries and urged others to travel suit aft it laid disconnected hundreds of employees successful 2022 and replaced them with lower-paid bureau workers,

Ms Haigh made a committedness to publicise bid services connected British railways during the predetermination campaign. The time earlier she resigned, the Government's plans to renationalise bid rider services were signed into law.

The Government volition beryllium capable to instrumentality implicit services from backstage companies erstwhile their franchises expire oregon their presumption are breached, according to the Passenger Railway Services (Public Ownership) Bill, which has present received royal assent.

Ms Haigh said this highlighted a “a historical infinitesimal for our railways”.

Ms Haigh has resigned from her presumption arsenic transport caput aft entering a blameworthy plea to a crime involving falsely reporting to constabulary that a enactment mobile instrumentality was stolen successful 2013.

The 37-year-old stated successful a missive to Sir Keir that though she was “totally committed to our governmental project” it would beryllium “best served by my supporting you from extracurricular Government”.

“I americium atrocious to permission nether these circumstances, but I instrumentality pridefulness successful what we person done. I volition proceed to combat each time for the radical of Sheffield Heeley who I was archetypal and foremost elected to correspond and to guarantee that the remainder of our programme is delivered successful full,” she wrote.

She said of the events successful 2013 that led to her condemnation that she had made a “genuine mistake”. It is understood that the condemnation is present spent and that the offence was fraud.

Sir Keir expressed gratitude to Ms Haigh for her efforts successful advancing the government's transport agenda.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Louise Haigh has done the close happening successful resigning. It is wide she has failed to behave to the standards expected of an MP".